A study in the journal Human Kinetics Journal found that only 3% of elite athletes say they get enough sleep, and 71% of athletes fall short by an hour or more.

I suspect that some of people ages 50 or older who regularly get exercise are also sleep deficient or downright deprived. After all, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 70 million Americans have chronic sleep problems.

That can seriously undercut the benefits you get from being physically active. A study in The Lancet Healthy Longevity tracked cognitive function in almost 9,000 people ages 50 and older for 10 years and found that people who were more physically active in their 50s and 60s but got six or fewer hours of sleep a night had faster cognitive decline than peers who were active and got enough sleep.

And the short-sleepers ended up with no better brain function than study participants who were inactive but got enough sleep.

To improve sleep, you want to manage your stress response using meditation, physical activity, and if needed talk therapy.

You also want to reduce inflammation by ditching added sugars, red and processed meats, and highly processed foods.

You can also talk to your doctor about taking nighttime magnesium and aspirin with half a glass of warm water before and after, as well as colchicine.

Then when you exercise, you'll get the cardiovascular, cognitive, metabolic, and immune system benefits that come from physical activity.